RiverFest: Celebrate the St. Mary's River!

Celebrate the St. Mary’s River with kayaking, song, entertainment, and educational exhibits at RiverFest 2010 on Saturday, September 25 at Historic St. Mary’s City!

Festivities will take place from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and all activities are free! Discover what you can do in your own backyard to keep our waterways and shoreline healthy. Local vendors will be on hand to discuss solar energy, sustainability, rain barrels, and rain gardens. Take home a copy of the 40-page home conservation guide available free at RiverFest.

Join Senator Bernie Fowler for the annual River Wade-In, an informal check of water quality, at 2 p.m. See how deep you can go before you lose sight of your feet. Have a close encounter with some of the winged, finned, and furry characters you might meet in your neighborhood at birds of prey and touch tanks exhibits. Mutts Gone Nuts, a madcap variety show featuring amazing rescued dogs, will perform at 1 and 3. Stroll through outdoor mini-galleries, where regional wildlife artists will display their work, or paint a pumpkin and create your own work of art. Become a work of art by having your face painted or watch a balloon artist twist and turn a latex and air sculpture. Relax at water’s edge and enjoy regional talent including David and Joe Norris performing original tunes inspired by our land, waters, and history, Southern Maryland Traditional Music and Dance, and duet Indian Summer. At 4 p.m., Hot Jazz of D.C. will wrap-up the day with manouche gypsy jazz and swing.

The living history exhibits, including the tall ship Maryland Dove, and the St. John’s Site Museum at Historic St. Mary’s City will be open. Vendors will offer food and beverage for sale throughout the day. This event is sponsored by the St. Mary’s River Watershed Association and Historic St. Mary’s City, with support from The Boeing Company, St. Mary’s County Arts Council, Maryland State Arts Council, and more than thirty local businesses. For more information about RiverFest visit www.smrwa.org/riverfest.html or http://www.stmaryscity.org/ or call 301-862-3517 or 800-SMC-1634.  To see a video about RiverFest, click here.